Treasuries Close Roughly Flat Following Choppy Trading Day

(RTTNews) - After moving notably higher over the course of the two previous sessions, treasuries showed a lack of direction throughout the trading day on Friday.

Bond prices spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, ended the day up by less than a basis point at 2.589 percent.

The choppy trading came as bond traders took a break following the rally seen over the past two days in reaction to the end of the fiscal standoff in Washington.

Wednesday night, lawmakers finally reached an agreement to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling, although there is some concern that the temporary nature of the extension could lead to another protracted fight in a few months.

Additionally, the economic impact of the shutdown is expected to lead the Federal Reserve to maintain its asset purchase program for the foreseeable future.

A lack of economic data may also have contributed to the lackluster performance by treasuries, as the Conference Board's report on leading economic indicators was postponed due to the shutdown.

Next week, traders are likely to keep a close eye on the release of the September jobs report. The report is due to be released on Tuesday after the shutdown delayed the report earlier this month.

Reports on existing home sales, import and export prices, and consumer sentiment may also attract some attention as the market focus shifts away from Washington.